Visa and MasterCard Go All in on Host Card Emulation and Mobile Payments

When Google introduced Host Card Emulation (HCE) with Kit Kat back in November, some of us looked at the move as them flipping the bird to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, along with their Isis Mobile Wallet application. For over a year, companies like Verizon refused to allow Google Wallet to work on their phones, denying that it had anything to do with their investment in Isis and everything to do with the app trying to access a phone’s Secure Element (SE). With HCE and Kit Kat, that need to access a Secure Element was removed, meaning there was no longer a way for mobile payment services to be blocked. HCE quickly became the future of mobile payments, something MasterCard and Visa are now fully behind.

In separate press releases pushed out this morning, both credit card companies said that they are in full support of Host Card Emulation. Each has either worked closely with other credit card companies (like Capitol One) to pilot programs for HCE or released platforms that companies can get behind to deliver HCE services.

Partners of Visa such as U.S. Bank, RBC, and National Australia Bank, are already behind this new technology and excited for their customers to be able to make easy payments without ever having to look for their wallet or credit card.

I’d count this as a major win for Google and HCE. Expect more mobile payment options than ever over the next year.

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MaddHatterr

This is dumb. If you are too lazy to go into your wallet for your card then go back to your couch. Just another tool to be used to steal credit card info and more stuff for people to use carelessly without understanding what is going on.

Lonetree

Once I went to a place that only took MasterCard and didn’t have my MasterCard in my wallet. Fortunately it was loaded on my phone and I paid that way.

Frank Urbanski

Shhh. Their way is the only way.

Disqus_n00b

What if you could tap n pay in a restaurant instead of giving to server to take to the back? There are practical uses bro..

LionStone

This sounds good… but i did take Verizon for $50. on an Ameriserve card and set up Isis on my DNA…mainly also because of the free Jamba Juices too!

Nikuliai

tap that a s s

FelisLachesis

This would be better if a chain of convenience stores in the Philadelphia area, known as Wawa, didn’t pull their NFC readers out of their credit card machines. They started by just disabling them, and then installed new machines that do not have NFC reading capability.

🙁

alzeis

Wawa has the greatest coffee I have ever tasted….thought I would share

Jason Kahn

So far I’ve only had luck in NYC Taxi’s, they all have it. CitiBike, 7-11. Fairway, and all the major Drugstores.

Subway and KFC?! Really… I’m getting tired of going to Mickey D’s and Jack in the Box for food. My local subways don’t have it yet.

Tom Z

If the terminal has the following symbol, you are golden!

jim

My Google wallet hasnt worked in over a year, tried it on my Note 3 just the other day and nothing

schex13

Sadly, I think NFC readers will be totally widely adopted until there’s an crApple product with them. Android has now had them for at least 3 years and I don’t find readers many places here in the DC area.

jim

Yea tap and pay is pretty much dead

Bigwavedave25

Great news, I’m for it!

BillySuede

and with that verizon will never carry a nexus phone again.

hoosiercub88

Really, the only thing Verizon can do to prevent this, is not let any phone on their network have 4.4… Too late.

Tim242

My VZW S4 on KK already has this. Nexus not required.

Tom Z

It doesn’t have to be a Nexus. I’m using a Verizon Moto X and the tap and pay works perfectly.

Beavis

This doesn’t really do us any good unless there are more NFC readers out there.

Intellectua1

I heard the US is switching to more secure credit card payments which is NFC payments.. Apparently we are behind alot of other European countries that use this more secure technology.

belsonc

More secure credit card payments – yes. NFC – no(t necessarily – it’s a smart card type of technology). Behind Europe? Absolutely. Europe uses what’s called chip-and-pin, american CCs are expected to be switched over to chip-and-signature by late 2015.

lovell88

America is going to be using the chip and pin standard. Chip and signature is design as an exception for those with disabilities.

belsonc

Citation?

Lonetree

US is switching to EMV, but for the most part is using Chip and Signature. I know of only three credit unions and Diner’s Club that will be using Chip and PIN.

Intellectua1

Exactly what you said..

Plazmic Flame

Ever hear of MasterCard PayPass? Pretty popular here in Canada. It’s NFC at it’s best. I just tap or put my credit card very close to the reader and the transaction is done. I get my receipt and my goods and I’m out of there. USA is very behind.

Intellectua1

Yep my Chase card has that but unfortunately every time I try to use it it declines my transaction.. Funny thing about that is like a year and a half ago Chase said several customers complained about it not working so they sent me a new card and it still doesn’t work.. In other news I’m 3 hours from Canada so I’m there quite a lot.. I love that country, it’s so peaceful there..

sc0rch3d

yup, the CC companies should offer incentive to install them for free. put these in any major grocery chain or gas station and adoption will skyrocket

Yes, most every store I frequent has tap to pay abilities. Now, whether they are compatible with your phone is a different thing. Hopefully this VISA and MC announcement will speed that up.

Tim242

All NFC terminals are compatible.

mmark27

Sorry, I meant, Google Wallet or Paypal works with them. I know it’ll recognize the tap, but the POS terminal might not be able to process it. This is, however, limited as most have the mastercard logo and they work just fine.

Tom Z

They are compatible if they are compatible with the current credit cards. I haven’t encountered a tap and pay that didn’t work with my phone.

funnyfarm299

I’ve had it fail EVERY time at Best Buy (it says card type declined), and often at the coke vending machines at my college. It actually makes the whole machine restart lol.

Ryan

There are a lot but a lot I have tried are broken or do not work. Its kind of a crap shoot.

Suralin

I have been able to get them to work at Wegmans, McD’s (across 7 states, no less), and even Giant. I tried it at one CVS it didn’t work, but at another it did. It doesn’t hurt to try.

michael arazan

My local walgreens have them but never implemented them because no one has ever asked to use them, except for me. Only 5 business in my whole city use them.

Disqus_n00b

lol. Most times the employees are like “oh idk try it! hehe” they have no idea it’s even an option.

Ryan

True to some extent. Most of the places I shop here don’t have NFC terminals. And I have found the rare one so far (and I kid not, this did surprise me and the cashier was like, “get lost already”) that had an NFC reader, but the business didn’t want to make additional payments or something for them to process the transactions. It was at the closest Best Buy to me, and you would think that for a tech business like them, NFC would be working no problems. But apparently they proved me wrong. So, T-Mobile, Whataburger, Wendy’s… they all have working NFC terminals (at certain locations), yet Best Buy won’t pay to process them? Course, I don’t know the full thing behind it, but if one is not going to pay to for NFC transactions, then why bother have NFC terminals in the first place? Makes no sense if you ask me. /rant

David Narada Brown

And what do you think is going to push retailers to add this option in stores? Backing from major credit card companies and their partners maybe? This will help the future of mobile payments no doubt. if consumers want the option and the big credit card companies are supporting it, it will take off soon.

Josh Shaw

Woooo! Although running a leaked build of 4.4 on my AT&T Note 3, I have no options for rap & pay.

Tim242

Did you install Google Wallet first?

Josh Shaw

Of course, It worked just fine on my ATT HTC One.

Tim242

Might be the ROM. On my Verizon S4, tap and pay works flawlessly. The settings didn’t show up until there was an applicable app installed

Guy

What rom are you using for your s4?

Tim242

AOKP

Drayton Fair

Hey Tim, when / how did you root your Verizon S4? I’m current with their OTA updates and I thought that there was no way to root / rom?

Tim242

On the newer builds, you have to use Kingo Root. I don’t think the rootdelavega works. You have to use Safestrap to ROM. This means you can only use 4.3 builds.

Josh Shaw

Well duh! That’s not a carrier or One room!

Pedro

You should work on your rhymes.

Josh Shaw

????

Stnkycheezman

Hopefully this means more businesses will accept the “phone swipe”. The google wallet app is cool, hate the google wallet card.

consequence313

this is Visa and Mastercard saying F*ck verizon att and tmoblie which is all good for me